ARMA is a member of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health, disseminating information from these organisations to the musculoskeletal community across the UK.

Being the UK’s National Action Network (NAN), ARMA actively collaborates with other national and international organisations, as well as representing the UK on an international stage.

Bone and Joint Week

Bone and Joint Week is part of an international campaign to improve musculoskeletal health.

Formerly known as Bone & Joint Awareness Week and aligned with USBJI’s Bone & Joint Action Week, in this annually occurring international event there are dedicated days to highlight major rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions.

12 October: World Arthritis Day (WAD)

The World Arthritis Day is supported by EULAR, and this year’s theme is “Don’t Delay, Connect Today!”

This campaign aims to raise awareness of the importance of early diagnosis in preventing further damage to those living with RMDs, and to encourage timely access to evidence-based treatment.
You can get involved by liking and sharing posts on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (#ConnectToday).

This year, the WSD theme is “Your Back in Action” highlighting the importance of physical activity and improving posture as part of good spinal health and prevention of injury. WSD is encouraging people and organisations worldwide to plan special events around the theme of #yourbackinaction to raise awareness of good spinal health.

EULAR – the European League Against Rheumatism

The UK is one of many countries across Europe represented within EULAR, a diverse organisation that lobbies at the european level. The varying size, structure and activities of EULAR’s members means different approaches to issues must be represented, however all members work with a common goal to improve the lives of people with rheumatic diseases.

EULAR’s activities include raising awareness of the diseases, defending the rights and interests of people with RMDs, and promoting access to the latest and most appropriate treatments. EULAR collects and collates research on the different musculoskeletal conditions, and specifically develops information for broadcast to a non-medical audience.

Recent EULAR posts:

EULAR – a year in review 201803/01/2019-One strategy, a learning management system, five recommendations, 12 campaign sponsorships and a first – and a tenth – anniversary The European League Against Rheumatism, EULAR, is celebrating a year of achievement in rheumatology in 2018. EULAR launched its new five-year strategy as well as the EULAR School learning management system. It also published five… ...

Deadline fast approaching for EULAR Edgar Stene Prize Competition 201930/11/2018-There are only a few days left to apply for the prestigious EULAR Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2019. People with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders are invited to write about their personal experiences submitting essays on the topic of: “My ideal employer - Work without barriers for people with RMDs” Please find more information in these… ...

EULAR updates hand osteoarthritis management document26/09/2018-On 6 September 2018, The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) published an update to a set of recommendations for the management of hand osteoarthritis. The recommendations report on new evidence made since a first EULAR report was published in 2007. See the press release (opens in PDF) for the five overarching principles and ten recommendations… ...

Launch of EULAR`s Edgar Stene Prize Competition 201930/07/2018-On behalf of Nele Caeyers, Chair of the EULAR Standing Committee of People with Arthritis/Rheumatism in Europe (PARE); Dieter Wiek, EULAR Vice President, representing PARE; and Polina Pchelnikova, Working Group leader of the Edgar Stene Prize; the EULAR secretariat is delighted to announce the call for entries for the Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2019. People… ...

The Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health

The Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health (G-Musc) is a global initiative intended to improve the lives of people with musculoskeletal disorders and to advance understanding and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders through prevention, education and research.

G-Musc used to be known as the BJD, after the United Nations, the World Health Organization and 37 countries proclaimed the years 2000-2010 as the Bone and Joint Decade. Due to the success of this organisation it was extended to become the Bone and Joint decades, with a scope lasting until 2020. The initial 10-year global initiative was launched by the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, who urged governments around the world to start taking action to draw attention to the growing pervasiveness and impact of musculoskeletal diseases, and to reduce the social and financial burdens to society.

What is ARMA’s Role in the Global Alliance?

As a supporter of the lobal Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health, ARMA is part of a worldwide effort to:

raise awareness and educate the world on the increasing societal impact of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders

empower patients and service users to participate in decisions about their care and treatment

increase global funding for prevention activities and treatment research

continually seek and promote cost-effective prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders

The World Health Organization estimates that several hundred million people already suffer from bone and joint diseases, with dramatic increases expected due to a doubling in the number of people over 50 years of age by 2020. Musculo-skeletal conditions are the most common causes of severe long-term pain and physical disability, affecting hundreds of million of people across the world. The extent of the problem and its burden on patients and society can be understood from some examples:

Joint diseases account for half of all chronic conditions in persons aged 65 and over.

Back pain is the second leading cause of sick leave.

Fractures related to osteoporosis have almost doubled in number in the last decade; it is estimated that 40% of all women over 50 years will suffer from an osteoporotic fracture.

The severe injuries caused by traffic accidents and war produce a tremendous demand for preventive and restorative help. It it anticipated that 25% of health expenditure of developing countries will be spent on trauma related care by the year 2010.

Crippling diseases and deformities continue to deprive children of their normal development.

Recent Global Alliance posts:

Global Spine Care Initiative papers26/09/2018-The Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health wishes to bring to your attention a series of papers published in a supplement of the European Spine Journal this month. They have been written by the Global Spine Care Initiative (GSCI), a sub group of World Spine Care, which in turn is a project of GMUSC. This was… ...

Reducing the global burden of musculoskeletal conditions01/06/2018-The Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health is delighted to inform you about the paper "Reducing the global burden of musculoskeletal conditions" published online in the WHO Bulletin, May 2018. International experts, working with The Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health, are calling for global action from health authorities to address the huge burden of musculoskeletal conditions,… ...

G-MUSC Update04/09/2017-News from the Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health regarding - the transition to Berlin from the United Kingdom; the change in leadership; and the arrangements for the G-MUSC Symposium and Annual General Meeting: Venue: Berlin, October 22nd - 23rd 2017 For more details on these items, open the G-MUSC Update in pdf. ...

International

A selection of other recent international posts:

BMJD World Congress 201928/02/2019-The 7th World Congress on Controversies, Debates & Consensus in Bone, Muscle & Joint Diseases (BMJD) will take place October 17-19, 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan. This is your chance to interact with international experts from all areas of rheumatology in one place. The BMJD aims to reach consensus on controversial issues through debates and expert… ...

WORD Day – 18 March 201902/02/2019-The first ever annual WORD Day, “WOrld Young Rheumatic Disease Day” takes place on the 18 March in 2019. Jointly inaugurated by PReS (www.PRES.EU) and the parent/patient association ENCA (www.ENCA.org), the objectives of this day are to raise parental and professional awareness of these illnesses. Raising awareness of paediatric rheumatic diseases among health care providers… ...

MACP partner conference and IFOMPT22/01/2019-Physio UK Conference As part of the 50th Anniversary of the MACP, the Executive Committee made the decision to partner with Physio UK 2018 and work to deliver the MSK stream across the 2 day conference. Labelled by CSP's Karen Middleton as "the best Physio UK ever," the conference attracted double the delegates of the… ...

FOREUM call for International Fellowships03/01/2019-FOREUM – Foundation for Research in Rheumatology – announces its Call for International Fellowships (1 year). FOREUM is committed to funding and promoting scientific research into rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMD) and has a goal to foster links between rheumatology units in different countries. Consistent with these goals is the establishment of a call for… ...

EULAR – a year in review 201803/01/2019-One strategy, a learning management system, five recommendations, 12 campaign sponsorships and a first – and a tenth – anniversary The European League Against Rheumatism, EULAR, is celebrating a year of achievement in rheumatology in 2018. EULAR launched its new five-year strategy as well as the EULAR School learning management system. It also published five… ...

Deadline fast approaching for EULAR Edgar Stene Prize Competition 201930/11/2018-There are only a few days left to apply for the prestigious EULAR Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2019. People with rheumatic and musculoskeletal disorders are invited to write about their personal experiences submitting essays on the topic of: “My ideal employer - Work without barriers for people with RMDs” Please find more information in these… ...

Public Health England – Case study and report on lessons learnt29/09/2018-A report by Public Health England has been published in the World Health Organization's European journal, Public Health Panorama. "Developing partnerships and a whole-system approach for the prevention of musculoskeletal conditions in England" Abstract: This case study reviews the experience of PHE in developing and implementing a public health approach to the prevention of and… ...

Global Spine Care Initiative papers26/09/2018-The Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health wishes to bring to your attention a series of papers published in a supplement of the European Spine Journal this month. They have been written by the Global Spine Care Initiative (GSCI), a sub group of World Spine Care, which in turn is a project of GMUSC. This was… ...